Second Language Teacher Identity: A Systematic Review

Abstract

AbstractGiven “the complexities of identities that second/foreign language teachers construct” (Kayi-Aydar, 2019, p. 1) and the role identities play in teachers’ professional lives, this chapter systematically reviews studies conducted within the last decade to identify trends in second language (L2) teacher identity research and practice, reflecting on personal and professional identity development issues. The rationale for this review is to shed further light on our understanding of the L2 teacher identity concerns such as professional impact, language ideologies, pedagogical choices and practices, and the like. To this end, sixty one Q1 Scopus and SSCI- indexed journal articles published from 2010 to 2020 that met exclusion-inclusion criteria were systematically reviewed. Pedagogically, the findings of the study inform the practitioners who seek a better understanding of L2 teaching context (e.g. social, political, and cultural) as well as identity types (narrated identities, identities-in-practice, future selves, gendered identities, sociocultural identities) to enhance their professional identity construction during pedagogical interactions. Theoretically, the findings both display the trajectory of studies shifting from a normative paradigm to an interpretative paradigm and introduce mainstream theoretical frameworks (social identity theory, post-structural approaches, critical theory, positioning theory, sociocultural theory, Bakhtinian framework, and communities of practice) adopted in reviewed studies. As TESOL researchers and practitioners, we have limited our review to English as a second or foreign language teacher identity and have excluded studies on modern foreign languages from our definition of L2 in this chapter, although the findings have far-reaching implications for identity development of teachers of other foreign, world or modem languages.KeywordsSecond language (L2) teacher identitySystematic reviewNarrative inquiryProfessional developmentIdentity construction